Desolation Sound, June 13 - 19, 2009 (Part 1)

Desolation Sound. West Redonda Island. I’m not sure how this trip came to mind but I think we were talking about checking out Prideaux Haven and it just evolved from that. Started looking at the charts and doing some reading and thought that while we’re in the neighbourhood we may as well see some of Toba Inlet’s waterfalls. Then we read Cassel Falls, up Teakerne Arm was supposed to be nice and tried to find a way to incorporate that into the trip. It looked like everything we wanted to see surrounded West Redonda Island, so we just decided we may as well make our way around it.

We go into these trips now knowing there are certain things we would like to see or experience. In this case the highlights were to be Prideaux Haven and a couple of waterfalls along the route. Sometimes our plans work out, sometimes we don’t see everything we were hoping to, and sometimes we see more than we could ever have expected. There are always surprises on any trip that end up falling into a category we could call hidden gems. On this trip I was also doing a little research for the BC Marine Trail Network. It is a foundation that is trying to get campsites documented and saved along the entire BC coast so that paddlers will always know of a place they can reach within a certain distance along the entire coastline. At this point they are looking for, most importantly, pictures of designated camping areas and the access to these sites at different tide levels. I had contacted a director of this group before the trip and he sent me a list of the sites they were specifically interested in and a list of the information that they would like to have on each site.

So, the trip begins. The first big stage of any trip is just getting to the launch site. This launch was to be from Lund, the northernmost town on the Malaspina Peninsula. Never having been to Lund before I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there, but there were two ferries we had to take so we knew the Friday we left would just be a travel day. On the road shortly after seven am, Horseshoe Bay, Langdale, Earl’s Cove, Saltery Bay and finally Lund at about 2:30 in the afternoon. It was a nice drive and it is always nice travelling on the ferries. One interesting stop to make along the way is between the new and old towns of Powell River. There is a look-out just before the paper mill where you can see ‘The Hulks’. These are old concrete ships built during the world wars that they have stripped and anchored offshore to use as a breakwater.

Desolation Sound, June 13 - 19, 2009 (Part 2)

We woke up Tuesday morning feeling pretty good considering the previous day’s paddle. Sky was overcast again and we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast, walked the beach for a bit and then decided to go check out some waterfalls. We followed the northern shoreline again to a huge, impressive waterfall. We kept going for now as we knew we would be playing in the falls when we came back. Lila spotted some action in the water a long ways up the inlet. We both saw some dorsal fins coming out of the water but we were too far away to be sure of what it was, either really big dolphins or really small Orcas. The view up the inlet is really something else. The snow on the mountains and the sheer walls of rock rising hundreds of feet right above you is incredible. Due to the cloud cover we were only getting partial glimpses of the tops of the mountains. We headed back now to play in the waterfall. What a blast. The turbulence at the base of the falls just about draws your boat right underneath before it actually starts pushing you away. We were both soaked by the time we left here and it became one of the highlights of this trip. We headed back to camp then to relax for a bit and have lunch. After our break we headed southwest along the shoreline towards a marina and store located behind Double Island.